tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post293717899958955927..comments2024-03-28T17:44:11.289+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: Never Left Bereft: the (unrepentant) prodigal son as a stereotype of modern lifeBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-40569415214641870682019-12-12T22:41:27.092+00:002019-12-12T22:41:27.092+00:00I think the essential part of the prodigal son as ...I think the essential part of the prodigal son as he leaves home is, perhaps paradoxically, his lack of confidence. 'He who builds on a sandy foundation trembleth lest he should fall.' When the prodigal son left home, he didn't think he had what it takes to be like his father, so he wasted his living on hedonism.<br />When he returned home, he was able to acknowledge what brings true happiness, whether or not he was 'up to the challenge'. He was acknowledging that his Father's way of life was better than his. Therefore, he was making the first crucial step to build upon the rock, and could accomplish good things.Jaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598434344351174026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-997287873715294792019-12-12T20:12:02.877+00:002019-12-12T20:12:02.877+00:00I believe the necessary condition for a woman to m...I believe the necessary condition for a woman to make good use of her self-sacrificial tendencies, and come to herself, is motherhood, especially of older children. This seems to be when she can stop worrying so much about social consensus and status and move on to examining needless suffering consequent to bad choices, but the choices of her children, rather than her own. <br /><br />Feminism gets quite a lot of mileage by getting women to put off motherhood, which is the frame women need to make sense of the lessons of life. The prodigal’s mother needs the lesson brought home by the prodigal son. Lucindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01834799557675879450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-17870149680356187862019-12-12T16:14:32.012+00:002019-12-12T16:14:32.012+00:00@Lucinda - I think you may be right about that - a...@Lucinda - I think you may be right about that - and the 'it's not my fault' move is certainly encouraged by the peer group. There is a type of woman who always feels herself to be a victim (even when she is a billionairess power broker); whereas the equivalent man has never been wrong about anything (so far as he is concerned). Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-17372116972433356362019-12-12T14:48:20.023+00:002019-12-12T14:48:20.023+00:00Regarding prodigal daughters, I tend to think it’s...Regarding prodigal daughters, I tend to think it’s not exactly pride as much as a rejection of freedom itself; that is, rather than saying, “I’m right”, they say, “I have no choice”. Men see such as an admission of weakness, unattractive, but women feel it makes them more attractive. <br /><br />A prodigal daughter will often require concession from family that she is a victim before considering returning home. This is not the best set-up for loving relationship. <br /><br />Well, that’s why prodigal daughters are more difficult to help. And help often ends up not being helpful. Lucindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01834799557675879450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-23041610007245159182019-12-11T19:46:26.763+00:002019-12-11T19:46:26.763+00:00@FX - yes but that's not relevant to the argum...@FX - yes but that's not relevant to the argument here. Indeed, a loving Mother alone (Father absent) - who would rescure and take in her prodigal child - would (one would suppose) be far superior to living in hell-on-earth; yet that option is rejected, and plenty of people prefer to stay (maybe die) in hell-on-earth than acknowledge they have erred and return home. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-34128438945770278452019-12-11T19:22:38.117+00:002019-12-11T19:22:38.117+00:00Lots of fathers reject 'the matter of biology&...Lots of fathers reject 'the matter of biology'. It's their pride over the last 60 years in the West that stands out, not that of the sons.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Faculty Xnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-70053855106049891592019-12-11T18:45:26.617+00:002019-12-11T18:45:26.617+00:00@Wm - You have a weird mind...
@edwin - I'm n...@Wm - You have a weird mind...<br /><br />@edwin - I'm not talking about those instances; and anyway, how spiritually resourceful does a welcoming family have to be to be preferable (one would have thought) to living in a hellhole or extreme degradation? Not very. This is a matter of biology... except that spiritual pride/ addiction to sin overcomes even that. <br /><br />I certanly agree that God is literally as well as symbolically our loving Father, the creator; and I find this the single most important fact to bear in mind. <br /><br />I also believe that we have a Heavenly Mother, the spouse of the Father in the dyad that is Godhood - but there we get into Mormon theology - <br /><br />http://theoreticalmormon.blogspot.com/Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-24180283873985369942019-12-11T17:56:28.076+00:002019-12-11T17:56:28.076+00:00So true. But there is another factor that prevents...So true. But there is another factor that prevents the Prodigal's return: often the family lacks the spiritual resources to provide the needed help and have, to some degree, contributed to the problems of the Prodigal. Prodigals need fathers who are both wise and loving, and we are seeing a crisis in fatherhood in the West. When we no longer see God as a father, how can we be channels of His paternal grace? God as less than or other than a Father leaves us orphans. edwinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-75503458402327385342019-12-11T16:00:05.999+00:002019-12-11T16:00:05.999+00:00I had completely misinterpreted the title of this ...I had completely misinterpreted the title of this post! I thought you meant that modern prodigals do not repent *because* they are “never left bereft” — because modern life is so soft and easy that they never hit rock bottom as the biblical prodigal did and thus never feel the need to change. Certainly it’s easier now than ever to be a “happy sinner,” shielded from the natural consequences of one’s actions.Wm Jas Tychonievichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07446790072877463982noreply@blogger.com